Street Style by Amy & Georgia

Who- Sarah

What – Vintage Simona cropped women’s jacket

Why- The black contrast detailing sets of the burnt orange red and the matching buttons act as the finishing touch. The cropped style of the jacket is perfect for the intensity of the bold colour. Military meets Chanel.

Who- Vicky

What – Double-breasted jacket with detachable fur vest

Why – The versatility of this jacket functions for all occasions, we love that it can take Vicky from day to night. The fur, black wool and gold detailing combination would not have the same effect in any other colour, but black makes the garment rich and elegant. Russian Sophistication.

Who – Sunny

What – Tailored tapered pencil skirt with layered back vent

Why – We love the streamline silhouette exuding femininity. The layered vent at the back is highlighted by two covered buttons adding subtle interest to the minimal design. The colour also acts as a point of difference to this classic design. Forties/ office chic. 

Who – Remy

What – Tailored Ralph Lauren Jacket

Why – This safari style jacket has vintage charm but clean modern lines making it the feature of any outfit. Design details such as the large external pockets and the neck fastening tab add interest. The inside of the jacket is as attractive as the outside with contrast lining, many internal jet pockets of different size and a leather hook hanger. Classic gentleman!

Davisha-Post from Vicky

Davisha textile Merchants is from Richmond, which is the best place to go to get tailors's fabrics. Also the staffs in there are really help students to find out the fabrics you want, especially wool,most of them are from Italy.  

Yves Saint Laurent - Georgia Wyrill

The ladies man who made the prettiest boys of girls!

Saint Laurent is famous for his creation ‘Le Smoking’ (1966), the women’s version of a tuxedo, which became an alternative to the over effeminate evening gown that dominated in the sixties, followed by the safari jacket, the brass-buttoned pea coat, flying suits and the shirt-dress; all traditionally male pieces that he pioneered to become many of the chic classics of postwar women’s style.

(Berge, P & Bacon, J 2008, Yves Saint Laurent: Style, Abrams, New York, USA.)

In 1975, Helmut Newton’s famous photograph (below) was published in Vogue and immortalized the power of attraction and sexuality at the limits of androgyny in the Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo, now one of the most famous and respected creations by the designer.

“Yves Saint Laurent invented the foundations of the modern wardrobe, which remains the foundations of modern fashion... He offered a basis for the wardrobe of a woman of action, reproducing all the advantages of a male business suit: the comfort and security of a well-made garment and the modern armor with which to face the world with confidence.” (Polan & Tredre, 2009, The Great Fashion designers, 118).

(http://kendrickjacocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Yves_Saint_LaurentHelmut_Newton.jpg)

Yves Saint Laurent said the reasoning behind his use of masculinity was because “I noticed men were much more comfortable than women in their clothes and I tried to give them this confidence” (In Search of Yves Saint Laurent, SBS, 2007). 

It is important to note that Saint-Laurent did not simply copy masculine looks but took inspiration from them and paired designs with highly feminine details such as silk muslin blouses and bow neck-ties. 

(Berge, P & Bacon, J 2008, Yves Saint Laurent: Style, Abrams, New York, USA.)

It is said that he was like Chanel in this way, responding to the subtleties of masculine tailoring seeking to provide a similar sort of style for women and she agreed calling him her “only inheritor” at the time of her retirement.

(Berge, P & Bacon, J 2008, Yves Saint Laurent: Style, Abrams, New York, USA.)

To me, Saint Laurent was the perfect designer, using a mix of humour, simple lines, carefully selected colour and pure classicism in all he created. 

The smoking jacket or tuxedo he made for women has been a main source of inspiration for the tailored jacket I am in the process of making this semester. 

He will always be one of my favourite designers and I think what he did for the female wardrobe in the form of tailored garments was an enormous feat that has not been topped since.

photos by angel

illustrations by hong

Hussein Chalayan Spring 2011 - Image sourced from Style.com
Split tailored vest, placed over a flippy dress playing with line, layering and visual textures.

 Stella McCartney Spring 2011 - Images Sourced from Style.com

A classic tailoring, relaxed with denim and an informal shirt - synonymous attitude of Stella McCartney

Celine Spring 2011 - Images sourced from Style.com

This is an example of an experimental tailored garment, a sort of hybrid blazer/cape. 

Posted by Hugh 

Captains of Industry

I decided on a Saturday afternoon to ride down to Captain of Industry, a nifty little place located just off little Bourke down Somerset Place, where I had the pleasure to sit down and have a chat with Thom Grogan, who offers a made to measure service within the vicinity. Unlike the in-house bespoke shoe service also offered at captain of industry, Grogan’s suits and designs are manufactured off site, actually all the way over in New Zealand. Despite not making the final garment handed over to the customer, Grogan does involve himself within the work. He creates all the designs made available, as well as develops the blocks used and concentrates on changing them to fit the client. As a self-taught designer, Grogan is influenced by the classical elements of tailoring, and menswear. Using all the traditional techniques within his works, such as the rolled lapel, horsehair canvas, shoulder pads and more, he considers his designs as contemporary takes on the traditional tailored technique. He felt that tailors didn’t know fashion, they just knew tradition, and he wanted to bring fashion to tailoring with his designs. With over 90 different fabrics to choose from the service provided is quite spectacular. With a very laid back, easygoing approach, customers won’t feel intimidated at all entering the shop. With four different services available at the shop, including, a men’s barber, bespoke shoes, a café and Thom’s made to measure service, Captains of industry is defiantly an individual place that must be visited.

Captain of industry is Open Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 5pm. Closed on Sunday and public holidays. They are located at 2 Somerset Lane, just off little Bourke. http://captainsofindustry.com.au/

Thom's Studio at the Shop

On site machine, to do small alterations for customers

Some of the pre made patterns

The Traditional Elements

Front of the shop

- By Lois McGruer-Fraser

Eastern Market

Through the process of researching exquisite and interesting interpretations of ‘tailored’ garments I came across some amazing garments at Eastern Market  located on Grattan Street, Carlton.
For the purposes of our studio we use the word ‘tailored’ to discriminate mass market garments that do not possess the bespoke qualities that are traditionally associated with tailoring.
Some of these garments opened my mind to the possibilities of tailoring and in some way formed my opinion on what constitutes a tailored garment.  I suppose for me I believe truly exquisite tailoring is not only held in the exterior components of the jacket (lapel, collar etc) but just as importantly- if not more, in the interior components.
This encompasses not only the internal structures that form the concealed basis of the jacket, but also the sometimes quirky details that only reveal themselves to the wearer.
Most decent quality tailored jackets we see on the market have features such as internal jet pockets but what I’ve discovered from my trip to Eastern Market is how truly amazing tailored pieces have internal features that are so intriguing- such as interesting pocket detailing, facing tapes that are used as a decorative element within the jacket and not just for its intended purpose.
One particular designer that I found captures this is the enigmatically named Japanese brand ‘If Six Was Nine’. I instantly fell in love with their tailored pieces that took tailoring into a contemporary and slightly punk realm. The Jackets were made out of leather but didn’t look like ordinary leather jackets. They were structured with all the internal features of which most tailored jackets consist- shoulder pads, shoulder roll etc. The linings had interesting prints, and pocket detailing I hadn’t seen before. The sleeve head consisted of structured panels. The collars were decorated with studs and beading, and the cuffs had skulls as buttons that were covered in silk. Other details included cuffs covered in tiny metal crosses.
These distinguishing features elevate the garments above the mass market jackets, and thus are priced accordingly
 - Written by Tanya Rapaic

Glen Rollanson for '3rd Time'

This week we were fortunate to hear Glen Rollanson talk about 3^rd Time, his new label.

Referencing sportswear and classic tailoring, Rollanson is “reusing, recutting and recreating” discarded garments, salvaged and unused high quality fabrics. All of his garments are one off pieces, using the same pattern, with different and unique choices of fabrics throughout the collection. The range currently includes men’s tailored jackets, vests, shirts and a more casual bomber jacket.

Rollanson is not only “finding beauty within the forgotten”, but his designs are functional and make the most of the unique properties of each fabric. Design and ergonomics have been well considered in fabric choice, illustrated by the combination and placement of knitted and woven fabrics. One of the features of the collection is knitted back panels that are not only aesthetically pleasing in their textural variance but also allow for ease of movement.

Rollanson’s designs are, “reacting against over-consumption by using what already exists”. As he uses off cuts of his own fabrics and those from other areas of the fashion industry, Rollanson is doing his part to utilise what is around him, rather than adding to this ‘consumption’. Although he does not see himself as an advocate for sustainable fashion, his ethos is one of reducing waste and promoting recycling.

The designs of the jackets are definitely ones to be seen. They include precise tailoring, and reference the past with the fabric choices used, each with a beautiful cut and elegance to them…

“Each jacket tells a story”

- Written by Lauren Slaviero

Previous Student Blog Work

Interested in previous student work?
Last semester some students participated in a studio that explored stretch fabricated garments, called 'Stretch Generics'. As part of assessment, students were required to presented their on-going learning journeys through the studio, in a blog. 


Jack Hancock
http://jarkushiver.blogspot.com/


Elinor McMahon
http://elinorjoslin.blogspot.com/


Georgia Wyrill
http://georgiawyrill.blogspot.com/


Tanya Rapaic
http://hollowcrownhollowcrown.blogspot.com/


- Posted by Elinor McMahon

Carol Christian Poell

Austrian designer, Carol Christian Poell, uses new and modern textiles to create well cut garments with inventive structure and construction. With these techniques, he creates conceptual pieces of wearable art.


His most recent collection is currently stocked at Eastern Market and is an amazing combination of classic cutting for tailoring with innovative methods of construction. One of the most explored ideas is plastics and tapes for bonding the fabrics together. He has taken tailoring to a new level with his exploration of processes and fabrications. This collection shows of his use of new techniques, in the designs of the garments. Many of the jackets don’t have linings, thus showing the methods used.


The inside structure of the garments has the same effect as traditional tailoring, but is done in totally different ways. The jackets don’t include traditional interlinings, instead using tapes and plastic adhesives to get the hand worked shaping and structure into the jackets. Many of the seams are bonded together with these tapes, and it adds extra strength and support to the overall finish.


One of the techniques I found most interesting were the accessories that had a rubber finish. These items consisted of a belt, bag and shoes that had been dipped into rubber and hung up to dry. This created exquisite pieces that looked as though they were dripping, producing a random and one off finish to each one.


As well as innovative techniques, the designs are also well thought out. These, as well as the internal workings involve new textiles in pieces like plastic trench coats and plastics panels in jackets. Jackets have also been made from high quality leathers and more traditional fabrics like wool and cotton.


- Written by Lauren Slaviero